U.S. patent application number 15/303791 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-09 for reproduction apparatus and reproduction method.
This patent application is currently assigned to KYOCERA Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is KYOCERA Corporation. Invention is credited to Atsuhisa Inakoshi.
Application Number | 20170041711 15/303791 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54332099 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170041711 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Inakoshi; Atsuhisa |
February 9, 2017 |
REPRODUCTION APPARATUS AND REPRODUCTION METHOD
Abstract
A reproduction apparatus includes a biological sensor located at
an earphone to acquire biological information and a controller for
controlling an output operation of a content based on an
acquisition state of the biological information.
Inventors: |
Inakoshi; Atsuhisa;
(Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KYOCERA Corporation |
Kyoto |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
KYOCERA Corporation
Kyoto
JP
|
Family ID: |
54332099 |
Appl. No.: |
15/303791 |
Filed: |
April 22, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
April 22, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2015/002195 |
371 Date: |
October 13, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04R 5/04 20130101; H04M
1/6058 20130101; H04R 1/1041 20130101; H04R 1/1091 20130101; H04R
5/033 20130101; H04M 1/72569 20130101; H04R 1/1016 20130101; H04R
29/001 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04R 5/04 20060101
H04R005/04; H04R 1/10 20060101 H04R001/10; H04R 5/033 20060101
H04R005/033; H04R 29/00 20060101 H04R029/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 23, 2014 |
JP |
2014-089410 |
Claims
1. A reproduction apparatus comprising: a biological sensor located
at an earphone to acquire biological information; and a controller
for controlling an output operation of a content based on an
acquisition state of the biological information.
2. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
controller ends or suspends the output operation of the content
when the biological sensor is not acquiring the biological
information, or executes the output operation of the content when
the biological sensor is acquiring the biological information.
3. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the
content is a video content including sound, and the controller ends
the output operation of the video content when the biological
sensor is not acquiring the biological information.
4. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the
content is a sound content, and the controller ends the output
operation of the sound content when the biological sensor is not
acquiring the biological information.
5. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
controller mutes sound of the content being output when the
biological sensor is not acquiring the biological information.
6. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
earphone is provided with a sound output unit for outputting the
content and the biological sensor, both of which are located at
insertion units to be inserted into the left ear and the right ear,
respectively, and the controller, based on the acquisition state of
the biological information by a right ear biological sensor and a
left ear biological sensor, performs, when the content is
stereophonic, a stereophonic output operation such that the content
is output from both a right ear sound output unit and a left ear
sound output unit, or performs a monophonic output operation such
that the content is output from one of the right ear sound output
unit and the left ear sound output unit.
7. A reproduction method of a reproduction apparatus comprising: a
step of acquiring biological information from a biological sensor
located at an earphone; and a step of controlling an output
operation of a content based on an acquisition state of the
biological information.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of
Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-089410 (filed on Apr. 23,
2014), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This disclosure relates to a reproduction apparatus and a
reproduction method.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Conventionally, there is known an apparatus for realizing
several functions by using biological information.
SUMMARY
[0004] A reproduction apparatus of the disclosure herein
includes:
[0005] a biological sensor located at an earphone to acquire
biological information; and
[0006] a controller for controlling an output operation of a
content based on an acquisition state of the biological
information.
[0007] A reproduction method of the disclosure herein is a
reproduction method of a reproduction apparatus, the reproduction
method including:
[0008] a step of acquiring biological information from a biological
sensor located at an earphone; and
[0009] a step of controlling an output operation of a content to
the earphone based on an acquisition state of the biological
information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] In the accompanying drawings:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a main section of a
reproduction apparatus according to one embodiment of the
disclosure herein;
[0012] FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an example of
arrangement of a right ear biological sensor on a right ear
insertion unit of an earphone;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the right
ear insertion unit of FIGS. 2A and 2B is inserted into the ear;
and
[0014] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an
operation performed by a mobile phone controller.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Conventionally known apparatuses switch the functions based
on the biological information acquired, assuming that the
biological information may be acquired. Therefore, when, for
example, a user stops using the above apparatuses and a detection
means of the biological information does not detect the biological
information, the above apparatuses cannot switch the functions.
Generally, when the user stops using the apparatus, the user is
assumed to turn off the power of the apparatus. However, when the
user forgets to turn the power off, or when the power is ON due to
some erroneous operations, the power of the apparatus is ON against
a user's intention. In this case, when the apparatus is capable of
detecting a user's using state thereof and controlling an operation
on its own, it is highly convenient to the user.
[0016] Therefore, it could be helpful to provide a reproduction
apparatus and a reproduction method which enhance convenience.
[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the disclosure herein will be
described with reference to the drawings.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a main section of a
reproduction apparatus according to one embodiment of the
disclosure herein. A reproduction apparatus 100 includes, as
illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, an earphone 110 and a mobile
phone 120.
[0019] A user listens to a content by using the reproduction
apparatus 100. In particular, the user operates the mobile phone
120 to reproduce the content. The earphone 110 includes biological
sensors 113R and 113L located thereat, each of which may acquire
biological information when the user is wearing the earphone 110.
The reproduction apparatus 100, based on whether the biological
sensors 113R and the 113L are acquiring the biological information,
determines whether the user is using the reproduction apparatus 100
and outputs the content accordingly. Here, the content includes a
sound content such as music information, voice information, and the
like and a video content including video information such as TV
information, movies, and the like.
[0020] The earphone 110 includes a right ear insertion unit 111R, a
left ear insertion unit 111L, an earphone controller 114, and a
communication unit 115. The user, to listen to the content, inserts
the right ear insertion unit 111R and the left ear insertion unit
111L into the right ear and the left ear, respectively. The right
ear insertion unit 111R and the left ear insertion unit 111L are
preferably in a shape which may be stably sit in the user's
ears.
[0021] The right ear insertion unit 111R includes a right ear sound
output unit 112R and a right ear biological sensor 113R. The right
ear sound output unit 112R is constituted by using, for example, a
speaker unit and outputs sound of the content reproduced by the
reproduction apparatus 100. Also, the right ear biological sensor
113R is constituted by using, for example, a blood flow sensor for
measuring blood flow or a pulse wave sensor for measuring a pulse
wave, which serve as the biological information, and acquires the
biological information of the user wearing the earphone 110.
[0022] The left ear insertion unit 111L is, for example,
bilaterally symmetric to the right ear insertion unit 111R and
includes a left ear sound output unit 112L and a left ear
biological sensor 113L. The left ear sound output unit 112L outputs
the sound of the content reproduced. The left ear biological sensor
113L acquires the biological information of the user wearing the
earphone 110. The left ear sound output unit 112L and the left ear
biological sensor 113L may have the same configurations as the
right ear sound output unit 112R and the right ear biological
sensor 113R, respectively. Also, the reproduction apparatus 100,
for a stereophonic content, may perform a stereophonic output by
using the right sound output unit 112R and the left sound output
unit 112L.
[0023] Note that, hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish
between the right ear insertion unit and the left ear insertion
unit, between the right ear sound output unit and the left ear
sound output unit, and between the right ear biological sensor and
the left ear biological sensor, the insertion unit, the sound
output unit, and the biological sensor are referred to as an
insertion unit 111, a sound output unit 112, and a biological
sensor 113, respectively.
[0024] FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an example of
arrangement of the right ear biological sensor 113R of the right
ear insertion unit 111R of the earphone 110. FIG. 2A illustrates a
top view, and FIG. 2B illustrates an elevation view. The right ear
biological sensor 113R, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, for
example, includes the right ear biological sensor 113R on an upper
surface of the right ear insertion unit 111R. Thereby, when the
user inserts the right ear insertion unit 111R into the right ear
as illustrated in FIG. 3, the right ear biological sensor 113R
comes into contact with an upper portion of the ear canal of the
right ear and thus may acquire the biological information at a
contact site.
[0025] The left ear biological sensor 113L is arranged, for
example, at a position of the left ear insertion unit 111L
corresponding to the right ear biological sensor 113R described
above, and may acquire the biological information of the user at an
upper portion of the ear canal of the left ear. In this manner, the
right ear biological sensor 113R and the left ear biological sensor
113L acquire the biological information at different sites: the
right ear canal and the left ear canal. Note that the biological
sensor 113 is arranged in a manner described above by way of
example only and may be arranged on the insertion unit 111 in such
a manner as to come into contact with, for example, a lower portion
or a side portion of the ear canal.
[0026] When the biological sensor 113 is, for example, the blood
flow sensor, the blood flow sensor includes a light emitter for
emitting a laser beam or an LED (Light Emitting Diode) and a
photodetector such as PT (Phototransistor), PD (Photodiode), or the
like. The blood flow sensor emits the light from the light emitter
to a measuring site of blood flow data serving as the biological
information of the user and measures a Doppler shift frequency of
scattered light by means of the photodetector, thereby measures the
blood flow data. In measurement using the light as described above,
the blood flow sensor does not necessarily need to contact with the
ear canal.
[0027] Here, a blood flow measurement technique using the Doppler
shift will be described. A device for measuring the blood flow
using the Doppler shift includes a light emitting unit for emitting
the laser beam into a tissue of a living body, a photodetector unit
for receiving the scattered light from inside the tissue of the
living body, and a measurement unit for calculating the blood flow
based on a result of the measurement of the laser beam received.
The emission unit is constituted by using, for example, a laser
diode, and the photodetector unit is constituted by using the
photodiode.
[0028] When the light emitting unit emits the laser beam into the
tissue of the living body, the scattered light scattered from blood
cells which are moving is subjected to a frequency shift (the
Doppler shift) due to Doppler effect in proportion to a moving
speed of the blood cells in the blood. The measurement unit detects
a beat signal generated by optical interference between the
scattered light from a static tissue and the scattered light from
the blood cells which are moving. The beat signal is represented by
a function of time indicative of intensity. Then, the measurement
unit generates, from the beat signal, a power spectrum represented
by a function of the frequency indicative of power. In the power
spectrum of the beat signal, the Doppler shift frequency increases
in proportion to the speed of the blood cells, and the power
corresponds to an amount of the blood cells. Then, the measurement
unit acquires the blood flow by multiplying the power spectrum of
the beat signal by the frequency and integrating.
[0029] When the biological sensor 113 is, for example, the pulse
wave sensor, the pulse wave sensor includes, for example, the light
emitter such as the LED or the like and the photodetector such as
the PT, the PD, or the like. In the pulse wave sensor, the light
emitter emits the light to a measurement site of pulse wave data
serving as the biological information of the user and the
photodetector receives the reflected light. Thereby, the pulse wave
data is measured. In measurement using the light as described
above, the pulse wave sensor does not necessarily need to contact
with the ear canal.
[0030] The earphone controller 114 is a processor for controlling
overall operations of the earphone 110. The earphone controller
114, for example, based on information received by the
communication unit 115, controls operations of the sound output
unit 112 and the biological sensor 113. Also, the earphone
controller 114 controls, for example, the communication unit 115 to
transmit the biological information acquired by the biological
sensor 113 to the mobile phone 120.
[0031] The communication unit 115 connects to and communicates with
the mobile phone 120 in a wired manner or a wireless manner using
Bluetooth.RTM. (Bluetooth is a registered trademark in Japan, other
countries, or both) or the like. For example, the earphone 110
receives, via the communication unit 115, a sound signal
transmitted from the mobile phone 120. Also, the earphone 110
transmits the biological information acquired by the biological
sensor 113 to the mobile phone 120 via the communication unit
115.
[0032] The mobile phone 120 is, for example, a smartphone and
connected to the earphone 110 in the wired or wireless manner. The
mobile phone 120 includes a storage unit 121, a display unit 122,
an input unit 123, a mobile phone controller 124, a communication
unit 125, and a speaker 126. The mobile phone 120, depending on the
content, reproduces the content by using the earphone 110 or the
display unit 122, or both.
[0033] The storage unit 121 may be constituted by using, for
example, a semiconductor memory and stores various information and
a program for operating the mobile phone 120. The storage unit 121
stores, for example, the content to be reproduced by the
reproduction apparatus 100. Also, the storage unit 121 may store
the biological information acquired by the biological sensor 113 of
the earphone 110.
[0034] The display unit 122 is a display device such as a liquid
crystal display, an organic EL display, or an inorganic EL display.
The display unit 122 outputs the video of the content reproduced by
the reproduction apparatus 100. The video output by the display
unit 122 may be a video of the content stored in the storage unit
121 or, for example, a video of a video content containing sound
received by the communication unit 125 from a content provider.
[0035] The input unit 123 receives an input operation from the user
and is constituted by using, for example, an operation button (an
operation key). Note that the input unit 123 may be constituted by
using a touch panel and, by displaying the input unit 123 for
receiving the input operation from the user in a portion of the
display unit 122, may receive a touch input operation from the
user. The user, for example, by operating the input unit 123, may
select the content reproduced by the reproduction apparatus
100.
[0036] The mobile phone controller 124 is a processor for
controlling overall operations of the mobile phone 120. The mobile
phone controller 124 controls, for example, an output operation of
the content by the sound output unit 112 and the display unit 122.
In particular, when, for example, the reproduction apparatus 100
reproduces a sound content such as music, the mobile phone
controller 124 generates the sound signal to be supplied to the
sound output unit 112 and transmits the sound signal thus generated
to the earphone 110 via the communication unit 125. The sound
signal is input to both of the sound output units 112 by the
earphone controller 114. Thereby, the sound content is reproduced.
Also, in order to end the output of the sound content being
reproduced, the mobile phone controller 124 ends generating the
sound signal. In order to end the output of the sound content, the
mobile phone controller 124 ends, for example, an application
associated with the sound content.
[0037] Also, for example, when the reproduction apparatus 100
reproduces the video content containing the sound, the mobile phone
controller 124, based on reception thereof from the content
provider, generates the sound signal and the video signal to be
provided to the sound output unit 112 and the display unit 122,
respectively. Then, by transmitting the sound signal thus generated
to the earphone 110 via the communication unit 125, the mobile
phone controller 124 supplies the sound signal to the sound output
unit 112 from the earphone controller 114 and also supplies the
video signal to the display unit 122. Thereby, the video content is
reproduced. In order to end the output of the video content being
reproduced, the mobile phone controller 124 ends generating the
sound signal and the video signal. In order to resume the
reproduction of the video content, the video content is reproduced
based on the reception thereof from the content provider by the
communication unit 125.
[0038] The mobile phone controller 124, based on an acquisition
state of the biological information by the biological sensor 113,
may control a content output operation. For example, the mobile
phone controller 124 ends the content output operation when the
biological sensor 113 is not acquiring the biological information,
and executes the content output operation when the biological
sensor 113 is acquiring the biological information.
[0039] For example, when the biological sensor 113 is arranged on
the upper surface of the insertion unit 111 as described above, the
biological sensor 113 acquires the biological information while
sitting in the user's ear and in contact with the upper portion of
the ear canal. Therefore, since the mobile phone controller 124
executes the content output operation while the biological sensor
113 is acquiring the biological information, the reproduction
apparatus 100 may reproduce the content when the user is wearing
the insertion unit 111 inserted in the user's ear.
[0040] Also, the biological sensor 113 does not acquire the
biological information when not sitting in the user's ear.
Therefore, since the mobile phone controller 124 ends the content
output operation while the biological sensor 113 is not acquiring
the biological information, the reproduction apparatus 100 may end
the content when the user is not wearing the insertion unit 111 in
the user's ear.
[0041] Also, for the sound content, when the biological sensor 113
is not acquiring the biological information, the mobile phone
controller 124 may stop a sound content output operation. When the
sound content stops being output and then reproduction of the same
sound content is resumed, the sound content is reproduced from a
portion where the output thereof is stopped. Therefore, in a case
in which, for example, the user removes the earphone 110 from the
ear leaving the sound content being reproduced and then wears the
earphone 110 again, the reproduction apparatus 100 stops the
reproduction of the sound content when the earphone 110 is removed
from the ear and reproduces the sound content from the portion
where the reproduction thereof is stopped when the user wears the
earphone 110. Therefore, when the user wears the earphone 110, the
user may listen to the sound content from a portion thereof being
reproduced when the earphone 110 is removed, without performing a
stopping operation, a rewinding operation, or the like.
[0042] Also, as illustrated in FIG. 1, when the earphone 110
includes the right ear insertion unit 111R having the right ear
sound output unit 112R and the right ear biological sensor 113R
located thereat and the left ear insertion unit 111L having the
left ear sound output unit 112L and the left ear biological sensor
113L located thereat, the mobile phone controller 124 may control
the content output operation based on the acquisition state of the
biological information by the right ear biological sensor 113R and
the left ear biological sensor 113L. For example, the mobile phone
controller 124 may control such that the content is output from the
sound output unit 112 of the insertion unit 111 having the
biological sensor 113 which is acquiring the biological
information.
[0043] For example, the output of the sound content will be
described. The mobile phone controller 124, when both the right ear
biological sensor 113R and the left ear biological sensor 113L are
acquiring the biological information, generates the sound signal
such that the sound is output from both the right ear sound output
unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L and supplies the
sound signal thus generated from the earphone controller 114 to the
right ear sound output unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit
112L. As described above, when both the right ear biological sensor
113R and the left ear biological sensor 113L are acquiring the
biological information, both the right ear insertion unit 111R and
the left ear insertion unit 111L are assumed to be sitting in the
user's ear. Therefore, it is preferable that the sound is output
from both the right ear sound output unit 112R and the left ear
sound output unit 112L. Note that, when the sound is output from
both the right ear sound output unit 112R and the left ear sound
output unit 112L as described above and the sound content is the
stereophonic content, the mobile phone controller 124 may generate
the sound signal such that both the right ear sound output unit
112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L perform the
stereophonic output.
[0044] Also, when the right ear biological sensor 113R is acquiring
the biological information and the left ear biological sensor 113L
is not acquiring the biological information, the mobile phone
controller 124 generates the sound signal such that the sound is
output from the right ear sound output unit 112R alone, and
supplies the sound signal thus generated from the earphone
controller 114 to the right ear sound output unit 112R. In this
case, the sound is output from the right ear sound output unit 112R
alone, without being output from the left ear sound output unit
112L. That is, when the right ear biological sensor 113R is
acquiring the biological information and the left ear biological
sensor 113L is not acquiring the biological information, it is
assumed that the right ear insertion unit 111R alone is sitting in
the user's ear. Therefore, the reproduction apparatus 100 needs to
output the sound from the right ear sound output unit 112R alone.
Note that, when the left ear biological sensor 113L is acquiring
the biological information and the right ear biological sensor 113R
is not acquiring the biological information, the mobile phone
controller 124 generates the sound signal such that, by contrast,
the sound is output from the left ear sound output unit 112L alone,
and supplies the sound signal thus generated from the earphone
controller 114 to the left ear sound output unit 112L.
[0045] Note that, when the mobile phone controller 124 controls
such that the sound is output from only one of the right ear sound
output unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L, the
mobile phone controller 124 may generate the sound signal such that
the right ear sound output unit 112R or the left ear sound output
unit 112L performs a monophonic output. The user may feel strange
with the sound when listening to the stereo output from only one of
the right ear sound output unit 112R and the left ear sound output
unit 112L. However, the monophonic output may suppress such a
feeling.
[0046] Also, when the mobile phone controller 124 controls such
that the sound is output only one of the right ear sound output
unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L, the mobile phone
controller 124 may control to turn the volume up as compared to the
volume of the sound output from both the right ear sound output
unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L. In this case,
when the sound is output from only one of the right ear sound
output unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L, the user
may easily listen to the sound content.
[0047] When neither the right ear biological sensor 113R nor the
left ear biological sensor 113L is acquiring the biological
information, it is assumed that neither the right ear insertion
unit 111R nor the left ear insertion unit 111L is sitting in the
user's ear. Therefore, the mobile phone controller 124 does not
supply the sound signal to the right ear sound output unit 112R and
the left ear sound output unit 112L. Thereby, the reproduction
apparatus 100 may suppress power consumption when it is assumed
that the user is not listening to the content.
[0048] The communication unit 125 connects to and communicates with
the earphone 110 in the wired or wireless manner. For example, the
sound signal generated by the mobile phone controller 124 is
transmitted to the earphone 110 via the communication unit 125.
Also, for example, the acquisition state of the biological
information by the biological sensor 113 is acquired from the
earphone 110 via the communication unit 125. Further, the
communication unit 125 receives the video content by performing,
for example, a radio communication with a server of the content
provider. Although in FIG. 1 the mobile phone 120 includes one
communication unit 125, the mobile phone 120 may include two or
more communication units including one communication unit to
connect to the earphone 110 and another communication unit to
connect to the server of the content provider.
[0049] The speaker 126 outputs the sound. The speaker 126 outputs
the sound based on, for example, the sound signal supplied from the
mobile phone controller 124. The mobile phone controller 124, for
example, when the mobile phone 120 and the earphone 110 are not
connected to each other, supplies the sound signal to the speaker
126 such that the sound content is output from the speaker 126.
[0050] Referring to FIG. 4, next, an example of the operation
performed by the reproduction apparatus 100 will be described. FIG.
4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation performed by the mobile
phone controller 124. Here, a case in which the reproduction
apparatus 100 outputs the sound content based on the acquisition
state of the biological information by the right ear biological
sensor 113R and the left ear biological sensor 113L will be
described.
[0051] First, the mobile phone controller 124 receives, via the
communication unit 125, the acquisition state of the biological
information by the right ear biological sensor 113R (step S101).
Then, the mobile phone controller 124, based on the acquisition
state thus received, determines whether the biological information
of the right ear is acquired (step S102). For example, the mobile
phone controller 124, when the data acquired by the biological
sensor 113 corresponds to data of a value of predetermined blood
flow or predetermined pulse wave preliminarily stored, determines
that the biological information is acquired.
[0052] The mobile phone controller 124, when determining that the
biological information of the right ear is acquired (Yes at step
S102), determines that the user is wearing the right ear insertion
unit 111R in the right ear and determines to supply the sound
signal to the right ear sound output unit 112R (step S103). On the
other hand, the mobile phone controller 124, when determining that
the biological information of the right ear is not acquired (No at
step S102), determines that the user is not wearing the right ear
insertion unit 111R in the right ear and proceeds to step S104.
[0053] Next, the mobile phone controller 124, for the left ear,
performs steps similar to steps S101 to S103. That is, the mobile
phone controller 124 receives, via the communication unit 125, the
acquisition state of the biological information by the left ear
biological sensor 113L (step S104). Then, the mobile phone
controller 124, based on the acquisition state thus received,
determines whether the biological information of the left ear is
acquired (step S105).
[0054] The mobile phone controller 124, when determining that the
biological information of the left ear is acquired (Yes at step
S105), determines that the user is wearing the left ear insertion
unit 111R in the left ear and determines to supply the sound signal
to the left ear sound output unit 112L (step S106). On the other
hand, the mobile phone controller 124, when determining that the
biological information of the left ear is not acquired (No at step
S105), determines that the user is not wearing the left ear
insertion unit 111L in the left ear and proceeds to step S107.
[0055] Then, the mobile phone controller 124 generates the sound
signal to be supplied to the sound output unit 112 selected and
supplies the sound signal to the sound output unit 112 via the
communication unit 125 (step S107). The mobile phone controller
124, for example, when determining to supply the sound signal to
both the right ear sound output unit 112R and the left ear sound
output unit 112L, supplies the sound signal to both the right ear
sound output unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L at
step S107, such that the sound content is subjected to the
stereophonic output according to the sound content. Also, for
example, when the mobile phone controller 124 determines to supply
the sound signal to one of the right ear sound output unit 112R and
the left ear sound output unit 112L, supplies the sound signal to
one of the right ear sound output unit 112R or the left ear sound
output unit 112L which has been selected, such that the sound
content is subjected to the monophonic output from one of the right
ear sound output unit 112R and the left ear sound output unit 112L.
Further, when the mobile phone controller 124 determines that the
biological information is not acquired both at steps S102 and S105
(No at steps S102 and S105), the mobile phone controller 124 does
not supply the sound signal to the sound output unit 112. In this
case, the mobile phone controller 124 ends or suspends the sound
content.
[0056] The mobile phone controller 124, in a state in which a
communication between the earphone 110 and the mobile phone 120 is
established, repetitively performs the flow in FIG. 4 periodically,
non-periodically, or continuously, thereby determining whether the
insertion unit 111 is sitting in the ear based on the acquisition
state of the biological information by the biological sensor 113
and changing an output state of the sound content.
[0057] As described above, the reproduction apparatus 100 controls
the output of the content based on the acquisition state of the
biological information by the biological sensor 113. Since the
acquisition state of the biological information corresponds to
whether the user is wearing the earphone 110 in the ear(s), the
reproduction apparatus 100 may reproduce the content based on
whether the user is wearing the earphone 110. Therefore, the user
may reproduce or end the content by wearing or taking off the
earphone 110, instead of operating the input unit 123.
[0058] Also, since the reproduction and end of the reproduction of
the content are associated with whether the user is wearing the
earphone 110, when the user takes off the earphone 110 forgetting
to end the content, the reproduction apparatus 100 may end or
suspend the content on its own. Therefore, power consumption of the
reproduction apparatus 100 due to the reproduction operation
unintended by the user may be prevented.
[0059] Also, since the reproduction apparatus 100 determines
whether the user is wearing the earphone 110 in association with
the acquisition state of the biological information by the
biological sensor 113, whether the user is actually wearing the
earphone 110 may be detected highly accurately. Therefore, the
reproduction apparatus 100 is highly convenient to the user.
[0060] Note that the disclosure herein is not limited to the above
embodiment but may be modified or changed in a variety of manners.
For example, a function and the like included in each constituent,
step and the like may be rearranged without logical inconsistency,
so as to combine a plurality of constituents or steps together or
to separate them.
[0061] For example, although in the above embodiment the
reproduction apparatus 100 includes the earphone 110 and the mobile
phone 120, the reproduction apparatus 100 may include, instead of
the mobile phone 120, any electronic apparatus for outputting the
content. The reproduction apparatus 100 may control the output of
the content by using a variety of electronic apparatuses including,
for example, a portable music player, a laptop computer, a tablet
computer, a gaming device, and the like.
[0062] Also, although in the above embodiment the reproduction
apparatus 100 ends or suspends the output of the content when the
biological sensor 113 is not acquiring the biological information,
the control performed by the reproduction apparatus 100 is not
limited thereto. For example, when the biological sensor 113 is not
acquiring the biological information, the reproduction apparatus
100 may control to mute the sound of the content output from the
sound output unit 112. In this way, the sound is prevented from
leaking from the earphone 110 when the user is not wearing the
earphone 110, thereby enhancing convenience.
[0063] When the biological sensor 113 is not acquiring the
biological information, the reproduction apparatus 100 may, for
example, switch an output destination of the sound of the content.
For example, the reproduction apparatus 100 switches a destination
of the sound signal associated with the content from the sound
output unit 112 to the speaker 126 of the mobile phone 120. In this
way, the reproduction apparatus 100, when determining that the user
is not wearing the earphone 110, may output the sound in such a
manner that the user may listen to the sound, thereby enhancing the
convenience. Note that the output destination of the sound may be,
for example, a speaker unit and the like separately connected to
the reproduction apparatus 100.
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